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She stood up and I was relieved that was the end of that line of questioning.
“I will,” I said.
“That’s my girl,” she said before she left. I collapsed in my chair.
Keeping up with all this secrecy was exhausting.
* * *
On Friday I decided to take another walk in the woods, even though it was foggy out. I liked the mysterious vibes, and I couldn’t lie, I was looking forward to fall. That time of year was so fun at the bakery, and I loved the weather being a little cooler.
I still had a whole summer to get through, though.
Not to mention Linley’s wedding, which was less than a month away. Everything was in place, but Linley was still stressed. I guess that was just part of it.
I saw someone running up ahead of me through the mist, and my heart leapt in my chest.
It was Alivia.
If I said that I hadn’t come here with the intention of running into her, that would be a lie. I’d really hoped to see her today, and I’d hoped things wouldn’t be weird with how we’d parted last time we’d seen each other.
“Hey,” I said, smiling.
“Hey,” she said, slowing down. “Are you stalking me, Pinky?”
“Are you stalking me?” I asked. She was back to the flirty tone, and I couldn’t stop smiling.
“Fair enough,” she said with a little breathless laugh. Her hair had curled with the moisture of the fog and was escaping the hair tie she’d used to pull it back.
I started walking and she fell into step beside me.
“How was your week?” she asked. It had been several days since I’d seen her, and I had seriously missed her.
“Good,” I said. I told her about the new bakery space. I didn’t tell her about Martha’s prying into my life.
“How were things at the inn?” I asked.
“Well, we had a bachelor party that completely trashed one of the rooms and yours truly had to patch and paint the holes in the walls. And then there was the bird that flew in and got stuck in the lobby for nearly an entire day.” She told me more inn stories and made me laugh so hard I was nearly crying.
“You should write a book or something. Just change the names or whatever, but you should. Oh my god, I can’t even breathe,” I said, holding my side.
“It’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure. It’s why I come out here.” Moisture from the trees dripped on us like rain. My hair was getting wet, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to be with her.
“Doing anything this weekend?” she asked.
“There’s a craft show at the lighthouse, and Em has a table, so I was going to go over to see that. You can come if you want. There’s a restaurant right next door and we could get lunch,” I said.
“Yeah, sounds good,” she said, checking the watch on her wrist. “I can’t stay too long, because we have a dinner on Saturday night that I have to be here for. It’s a charity thing to fundraise for the hospital.”
“No problem,” I said. I couldn’t deny the excited fluttering in my chest at the prospect of hanging out with her on Saturday, even if it was just for a few hours.
Alivia reached up and pulled a leaf out of my hair and then tossed it to the side.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You’re welcome.” My chest wouldn’t stop fluttering madly at the fact that she’d touched me. I really needed to get a grip around her.
“Do you ever get to go on vacation?” I asked. “I mean, it seems like you only ever get a day away.”
